Belt-lacing machine.



E. TO OLE; BELT LAGING MACHINE. APPLIOATIOF TILED DBO. 3. 1909.

A Q I r\ E. TOOLE. BELT LAOING MACHINE.

I APPLIOATION FILED DEC. 3, 1909. 967,083. Patented Aug. 9, 1910.

2 BHEETS-SHBBT '2.

THE NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON, D, c,

EDWARD TOOLE, OF GLOUCESTER CITY, NEW JERSEY.

BELT-LACING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 9, 1910.

Application filed. December 3, 1909. Serial No. 531,210.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD TooLn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Gloucester City, New Jersey, have invented certainImprovements in Belt-Lacing Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invent-ion relates to that class of devices particularly designed tocrush or flatten the spiral coils of wire used as a lacing for conectingthe ends of power belts; one object of said invention being to provide adevice of the character noted which shall be capable of quickly andconveniently flattening the coils of a belt lacing after this has beenplaced in suitable holes in the end of a belt. I also desire that thearrangement of parts shall be such that the various convolutions of thecoil shall not only be evenly spaced while being crushed or flattened,but shall be brought to and fixed in parallel planes at right angles tothe plane of the end of the belt, so as to render possible the use ofsimilar spiral coils in both ends of the belt. I further desire toprovide a machine capable of operating on the belts and lacings ofdifferent sizes, which shall be simple, substantial, as well asrelatively in expensive in construction, and have its parts so arrangedthat they shall not be likely to get out of order under conditions ofuse. These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafterset forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in whichFigure 1 is a rear elevation of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2is a vertical section on the line a--a of the machine shown in Fig. 1;Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the crushing jaws and their associatedparts, and Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views showing the ends of abelt with a lacing coil before and after it has been flattened by inmachine.

In the a ove drawings, 1 represents the base of the framework of mymachine which has two vertically extending standards 2 at its sides. Inthe inner face of each of these standards is mounted a metal bar orplate 3 and these two plates provide bearings for the two crushing jaws4: and 5 which are mounted one above the other. Each of said jaws hasjournals 6 and an operative face whose surface is curved eccentricallyto the imaginary line connecting the centers of said journals; suchjawsbeing so placed that their two eccentric faces are adjacent each otherand diverge from the rear to the front of the machine as shown in Fig.2. The upper aw 1 has projecting rearwardly from its central upperportion an arm 7, while the jaw 5 similarly has a rearwardly projectingarm 8. Said arms are respectively connected to a lever 9 by links 10 and11; which are pivoted to it at points equi-distant from a fulcrum 12formed by a pin carried on a standard 13 projecting upwardly from thebase 1. The long arm of the lever 9 is connected through a link 1 1 withan operating lever or handle 15, whose short arm is provided with a pin16 formed to enter any one of a number of notches 17 in a pair ofupwardly projecting bars 18. The lever 9 extends between and is guidedby these bars and the lower ends of said bars are movably connected bymeans of a pivot bolt 20 to an eye-bolt 19 mounted in the base 1, therebeing a spring 21 connected to said base and operative upon the bars 18so as to tend to swing them toward the rear of the machine.

Mounted upon the rear side of the lower jaw5 and projecting upwardlyimmediately to the rear of the jaw 4;, is a comb-like spacing plate 22provided with a number of vertical slots, whose distance apart issubstantially equal to the distance between the successive convolutionsof the lacing coil. When under operating conditions it is desired toflatten the convolutions of the wire coil as, after said coil has beenplaced in the holes 25 in the end of a belt 26', the latter isintroduced between the two jaws L and 5 in the position shown in Fig. 2,which illus trates said jaws as being separated to a maximum extent andthe operating lever with its fulcrum pin 16 in the highest of thenotches 17. Said belt is moved to the rear between the jaws to such adistance that the convolutions of the lacing w are forced partly throughthe vertical slots 23 of the spacing plate 22, and inasmuch as theseslots are but very little wider than the thickness of the wires of saidcoil, they necessarily compel that part of each convolution passingthrough them, to lie in a plane at right angles to the plane of the belt26. If now the operating lever 15 be moved downwardly, the long arm ofthe lever 9 is likewise drawn down and through the links 10 and 11, thearms 7 and 8 of the jaws are caused to approach each other, therebycausing the operative faces of said jaws to I to -cause their likewiseapproach each other and crush or flatten the coil as to a certainextent. Under these conditionsthe various parts are in the positionsshown in Fig. 2, and after the belt is moved a short distance to thefront, so that the lacing coil is wholly between the jaws, the fulcrumpin 16 of the operating lever is moved to the next lower notch 17 of thebars 18, thereby again bringing said lever to its raised position. Itmay now be again pressed down to further draw down the long arm of thelever 9 and thus cause a closer approach of the jaws 4t and 5. Thelacing coil is thusflattened by a succession of operations until itfinally has the form shown in Fig. 5. Since during the flattening actionof the jaws, the convolutions of the coil of lacing wire are held atequal distance apart and in vertical planes, that portion of thefinished lacing w projecting beyond the end of the belt 26 is incondition to receive between its loops the similarly formed loops ofanother lacing mounted in the other end of the belt, after which asuitable connecting pin may be run through both pairs of loops toconnect the two ends of the belt in the well known manner. It .isobvious that after the jaws have been caused to approach each other tosuch an extent that they crush the coils of wire into the belt, they maybe immediately separated, and the belt with its finished lacing removedby disengaging the fulcrum pin 16 from the notch 17 in which it isengaged and raising upwardly the levers 15 and 9. The notches 17 arepreferably so spaced that after the lever 15 has been moved downwardlyto its maximum distance, it may be disengaged from the notch 17, and bybeing raised to its upper position, may have its fulcrum pin 16 easilyentered in the next lower notch.

Owing to the form and arrangement of the jaws, the machine may receivebelts of widely varying thicknesses and operate to crush lacing coils ofsimilarly varying diameters;it being obvious that the jaws may beseparated to any desired extent by proper mani .ulation of the levers.

I c aim 1. The combination of a supporting structure; two jaws rotatablymounted therein, and each provided with operating faces whose surfacesare curved eccentrically to their axes; with arms for rotating the jawsoperative faces to approach each other.

2 The combination of a supporting structure; two jaws mounted therein,and provided with elongated operating faces curved eccentrically totheir axes of rotation; an arm for each jaw; and mechanism operative onthe arms for causing the operating faces of the jaws :to approacheachother.

3. The combination of asupporting structure; two jaws mounted therein,and each jaws together provided with diverging operating faces; meansfor spacing the convolutions of a belt lacing after it has beenintroduced between the jaws; and arms for causing the operative faces ofthe jaws to approach each other to flatten such lacing.

4. The combination of two jaws;

a supporting structure; arms for moving said and a device formed toengage the convolutions of a spiral lacing to maintain them inpredetermined positions while they are being operated on by the jaws.

5. The combination of a supporting structure; two jaws mounted thereon;a device carried by one of said jaws for engaging the convolutions of aspiral wire lacing while it is between said jaws, for maintaining saidconvolutions in predetermined relative positions; and means for movingthe jaws together to flatten the convolutions.

6. The combination of a supporting structure; two jaws thereon; aslotted plate carried by one of the jaws so as to be capable of engagingthe convolutions of a wire lacing; and means for moving together saidjaws to flatten such lacing.

7. The combination of a supporting structure; two jaws rotatably mountedthereon, and each provided with faces curved eccentrically to their axesof movement; a slotted plate carried by one of the jaws and projectingtoward the other in position to engage the convolutions of a wire lacingbetween the jaws; and means for operating the jaws.

8. The combination of a supporting structure; two laterally elongatedjaws rotatably mounted thereon, and having operating faces eccentric totheir axes of rotation; an arm projecting from each jaw; a loverfulcrumed on the supporting structure; and a link for each arm extendingbetween it and said lever.

9. The combination of a supporting structure having bearings; twoelongated jaws each having journals at its ends capable of entering saidbearings; an arm for each jaw an upright member provided with a seriesof notches; with an operating lever connected to the jaw arms andcapable of utilizing any of the notches for the reception of itsfulcrum.

10. The combination of a supporting structure having two uprightmembers; two jaws each having a journal entering one of said members andrespectively provided with faces eccentric to said journals; arms forsaid jaws; and means operative on the arms for causing the faces of theaws to approach each other.

11. The combination of a pair of laterally elongated jaws; a supportingstructure therefor having bearings for the reception of the ends of saidjaws; a notched fulcrum bar; an arm for each aw; a lever fulcrumed onthe supporting structure; links respectively connecting said lever withsaid jaw arms; a second lever capable of removably engaging any of thenotches of the fulcrum bar; and a link connecting said two levers 12.The combination of a supporting structure having two pairs of bearings;a pair of jaws respectively mounted in said pairs of bearings; means foroperating said jaws including a lever; and a notched fulcrum member forsaid lever, movably mounted on the supporting structure.

13. A belt lacing machine consisting of two jaws of cam section; aspacer placed to engage a belt lacing for-positioning it between saidjaws; and means for operating said jaws to cause them to shape saidlacmg. a

14:. A belt lacing machine consisting of two jaws of cam section; meansfor forcing said jaws together to cause them to shape the lacing; and aslotted structure for positively holding portions of the lacing in apredetermined position while it is being shaped.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD TOOLE.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM E. BRADLEY, WM. A. BARR.

